Derrick Williams Getting It Going?

Gettin his swagger back

Maybe DWill just needed to get his swagger back and at the 2012 Dunk Contest riding out with Crunch on a motorcycle and then dunking over said cycle, he got that swagger.  It sure looked like it last night in LA.  With Kevin Love in foul trouble and nursing a bruised rib (wuss), Derrick Williams took advantage of his extended minutes in his hometown and in front of 30-40 family and friends.  Scoring 27 points and 5 rebounds in 27 minutes as well as shooting a scorching 9 of 10 from the field with 4-4 shooting from three.  So the question becomes is Derrick Williams figuring something out?  Or did he just hit shots and get hot on a night Kevin Love didn't hog all the minutes?  Or was the 27 points out of Williams and Mike Beasley in LA just a big sale pitch by each to the Lakers to show Kobe and Co. why they need them more than Pau Gasol?

Also a random picture of Kate Upton included in post.  Why?  No reason needed.

I am going to say that slowly but surely (as slow as DWill gets back on defense) Derrick Williams is figuring it out and with that is getting more trust from Rick Adelman and the Wolves coaching staff.  His season has gone in spurts as far as playing time but in the last three games he has gotten over 20 minutes per.  Against Utah last week he had 13 points and 9 rebounds (also made Ricky Rubio dance) and after the All Star break filled it up as previously mentioned against the Clippers.  As color analyst Jim Petersen of FSN said, "DWill is looking like he is back at Arizona...This is the guy we saw in the pre-draft workouts that made him the #2 pick."  

Petersen said all of that after he got done telling Tom Hanneman that he had to say, "Hi" to SI Swimsuit cover girl Kate Upton who was sitting front row at Staples.  Petersen has his priorities straight.

Can't blame Jim Pete for being a bit smitten with Upton...

What Derrick Williams has looked like he was lacking for most of the first half of the season was confidence. You could see his wheels spinning when he got the ball and then after his head was through spinning and making the decision to drive, he'd wildly go spinning into the lane and a lot of the time end up not being successful on that drive attempt.  Last night when he got the ball, he just reacted, didn't hesitate and made moves with a purpose.  Indeed this was the player many fans expected the Wolves got in Derrick Williams with the #2 overall pick in this year's draft.  

Another thing that was great about last night is that in many ways, the way that Derrick Williams attacked the Clippers offensively was like a small forward (arguable what position he was playing as he almost always shared the court with the Pups other SF/PF tweener in Michael Beasley).  

As all Wolves fans know at this point, they need DWill to be a great small forward more than power forward and take that position by the balls and be the starter there for the next 10 years.  He was draining outside shots and going one on one from the top of the key, showing impressive handles and moves and then finishing strong at the rim.  

I don't expect 9-10 shooting from here on out or 4-4 from three, but just confident moves and confident in rhythm shooting is what you do hope to continue to see from DWill moving forward.  

Can he keep it up or should I say, "build off of this performance"?  Let's hope so.